“‘How many kids drowned in pools in Canada this summer?’ Tory supporters heckle reporter over refugee question” (The National Post)

Conservative leader Stephen Harper speaks with Allan Audette during a question and answer session with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce during a campaign stop in Welland, Ont., on Wednesday, September 9, 2015. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)

A Conservative supporter at a Stephen Harper campaign event heckled a reporter Wednesday who was asking about the government’s handling of the Syrian refugee crisis.

The government’s response to the crisis is now front and centre in the federal election campaign.

The catcalls came in Welland, Ont., as the Conservative leader was taking questions from journalists, almost a week after the world was riveted by the image of a dead Syrian toddler on a Turkish beach.

A low, collective groan was heard in the crowd before a lone voice was heard to say: “How many kids drowned in pools in Canada this past summer? Do you blame the government for that?”